Very recently we met Christian and her family for Christian’s Newborn Photography Shoot. Welcome to the world sweet Christian! Christian was joined with her mom, Grandma, Aunt and her big brother P.J. and big sister Morgan. This was a very special shoot for both Jen and I along with the family, of course! Christian’s daddy, Chris, went to school with both Jen and I, we all graduated together. Sadly, her daddy passed away unexpectedly when mom, Kelly, was only 8 weeks pregnant with their little girl. It has been hard for Kelly, her other two children and family and friends as the loss of Chris was unimaginable and felt by so many. Christian, as mom put it, helped bring a little sunshine to their lives during this difficult time and we were honored to be a part of Capturing a beautiful Moment in time with this beautiful family. Kelly made it clear that it was easier and healthier for her to talk about Chris. She wants her children to know and remember him and through all the stories everyone is able and willing to share, Kelly finds comfort.
Kelly is as strong as they come and she told us that it was amazing how strong you can be when you have no choice. We were happy to share stories with Kelly while taking Newborn Photos with Christian. We also had a lot of fun working with the handsome and very energetic P.J. and with the beautiful Miss Morgan. It was wonderful to meet Kelly and get to know her better and hopefully we helped her to relax a bit and just enjoy the moments we were able to Capture for her to cherish for a lifetime.
Newborn Photography sessions can be stressful for parents. They are stressful for first time parents because it is hard to let someone else, and often we are strangers at first, hold and handle your brand new baby. As many of you know, we like to have Newborn’s in the studio with in the first 5-10 days after birth. That way we are able to capture them while they are still sleepy and willing to curl up into a little baby ball of yumminess. Plus, at some point, the baby acne starts, their skin starts to peel as hormones rush and their baby skin adapts to life on the outside. Baby Christian came to us at 7 days old!
Sometimes experienced parents are stressed as well because they have other children with them. We always want and at least attempt to capture all of the siblings together at the very beginning of the shoot. Mom “was a little bit nervous about how it would go with a newborn and two other young kids. It went pretty much as I expected…thank goodness Ang and Jen were so patient!” Christian has an awesome big brother and sweet big sister. Mom told us that “PJ & Morgan love their baby sister. They both like to hold her, and PJ likes to sing to her when she cries. Their bond is already evident.” The bond was evident that night as well and baby Christian had been home for only a few days. P.J. sat right down on the carpet and wanted to hold her for the sibling picture. He was ready and willing! Unfortunately, Christian was not. She only wanted mom that day. So the sibling photo didn’t happen. And sometimes that is the case. Fortunately, Kelly came with realistic expectations and knew that with young siblings and a new baby, that was a possibility. Kelly also came with reinforcements and when sibling time was over, she had people to help her with the other two while she focused on the baby. The sessions are long and we always encourage you to bring back up to help with the other children. Sometimes they take them to the store, or for a walk (we have a path right by the studio) or, if close enough, the reinforcements take the siblings home. It is a huge help!
Parents also stress about having to feed the baby or change the baby. We want all parents to know that we build in time to feed and change the baby into the session. Babies need to eat and they need to be changed and that often helps calm them too. So no worries for us, we encourage parents to take their time, relax and know that we are totally fine with taking a break to meet the needs of everyone. Mom said she “was worried about having to break to feed her, but that ended up being ok. During, I worried because she was wide awake and didn’t want to be put down.” And with Christian, she definitely gave us a run for our money. She wanted mommy. The way we typically handle that situation is to let mom feed the baby and then we take the baby across the studio and I (Ang) snuggle and cuddle the baby until she calms down enough for pictures. Often I am called the baby whisperer. It doesn’t always work but I am a hot body who loves to snuggle babies, even through the screaming. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and we always manage to get the shots we need. Even mom said “I was impressed with all of the little tricks you used to calm the baby.” After over six years in the business and 6 kids between Jen and I, we have a bit of experience under our belts.
With Newborn Photography, it is important to go with the flow and sometimes, going with the flow means hanging out with mom while she quietly feeds the baby. We also had a chance to hang out with the older kids and PJ and I had a light saber battle! Dad was big into Star Warsand my children are into Star Wars so I happened to have a light saber readily available to be used during the shoot. However, later into the shoot, Grandma took Morgan and PJ to the car and we had some quiet time with mom and Christian. It was great getting to know Kelly better and to hear her stories as she reflected back to when she found out they were pregnant. She said her initial response was “Wow, that happened much quicker than I expected!” And while they were surprised, they were both very excited. Kelly also told us that the her first thought when she saw Christian was “She looks just like her dad!” I am sure Chris is looking down on all of them and happily agreeing! Kelly shared her feelings, her stresses, her happy moments and what it is like to live and grieve and raise three beautiful babies. She is one amazing mommy and we are honored that she trusted us with this special moment in their lives and for sharing her life story with us. We loved hearing about how her and Chris met and how they fell in love and how much he loved his babies. While many may focus on the sad, Kelly is doing her best to focus on the good times. She is an inspiration and we will always be here for her and her family.
As with all Newborn Photography, outfits and props are a big part of the planning. Because of the extra special nature of the shoot, mom was extra prepared with many outfits for all of the kids. They had matching sister and brother shirts, matching outfits to wear as a family along with individual pictures. She also came prepared with daddy’s shirts for each one to wear and the most awesome princess Leia crocheted hat for sweet Christian. In addition to all of those choices, mom brought a very special item with her. “I brought a quilt made out of my late husband’s shirts. He passed away when I was only 8 weeks pregnant, so Christian will never get to meet her daddy. The pictures that Jen and Ang got on the quilt mean a great deal to me, and they are amazing.” The quilt was absolutely amazing. The quality was beyond anything I had ever seen and the meaning behind each shirt was so very special. But the shirt that Kelly wanted seen the most was the Star Wars “I am Your Father” shirt and we absolutely had to make sure that no matter what, that shot was captured. And while Christian had been fussy through most of our time together, the period of time that she stayed calm the longest, was while she laid on that shirt quilt. She even fell asleep. I think that was Chris giving us a hand because he knew how much it meant to Kelly.
We were honored to be a part of Capturing Christian’s first pictures. We know we will be seeing them again in the future. Thank you for trusting us with this moment in your lives Kelly!
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